CICS 101 Uehling, Greta 2013 Winter Week 4 Lecture 2 January 31, 2013 Today’s Lecture The Sovereign State System and International Cooperation I. Palestinian Bid for UN Membership a. As of Nov 29, 2012, Palestine is a non member observer state of the UN i. This status was passed by the General Assembly, not the Security Council because the few permanent powers would veto this membership b. What does it mean to be a state? II. The Sovereign State System a. Legal equal entities – no one state has the authority to control another government b. Mutual recognition – states accept each other as a state c. Internal and External sovereignty – States have monopolies over legitimate uses of force inside borders. External sovereignty means a state has the power to have its own foreign policy without the force of others d. Territorial definition of powers – borders separate what is and isn’t under a state’s control e. MAIN POINT – the sovereign state system helps to solve some issues in world politics, while making it harder to solve others III. What is a State? a. States are the fundamental political units of modern world politics i. States have internal autonomy with a monopoly on legitimate use of force ii. States are legal equals iii. States respect on another’s territorial integrity and have boundaries 1. One country arresting a criminal in another country b. In reality, the internal and external autonomy of states have often been compromised i. Practical politics ii. State-like polities and entities c. Currently, 193 states are members of the UN d. Some exceptions: i. South Sudan recently was liberated from Sudan, became a member in July 2011 ii. Palestine has some territory it has authority over BUT other parts of its territory is under the control of Israel iii. Republic of China on Taiwan, Taiwan is technically a province of China, but wants to be recognized as a state. Therefore, China insists if Taiwan is noticed as a state, China will notCICS 101 Uehling, Greta 2013 Winter Week 4 Lecture 2 January 31, 2013 trade with them. Now, less than 10% of the states accept Taiwan e. Legal definition of a state i. Defined territory ii. Permanent population iii. Effective control by a government iv. Ability to enter into relations with other states IV. The Nation-State a. Although the modern conception of a state dates from about 1500, the fusing of the state with a national identity brought the state to full force i. National identity: who are we? 1. The creation of national identity 2. Vary from country to country. Organized language to language, culture-to-culture etc. ii. Nationalism increases the power of the state 1. French standardized French education and used army to enlist young men to create a national identity to France 2. People give power to the state (i.e. taxes) iii. Self-determination: the idea that every nation should have its own state 1. What groups of people qualify as nations? 2. Nations without states, states without a nation V. How the State Represents Itself a. The sovereign state system gives states responsibility for many human concerns i. Domestic security ii. Economic welfare b. Whether the state addresses these concerns depends on its internal politics i. Leaders answer to the politically relevant portion of society and provide goods to hold their loyalty 1. Leaders need the relevant portion of society in order to stay in power 2. Who is politically relevant (electorate, in US anyone 18+) 3. How many are needed to retain